


Beautiful People Beautiful Problems

by dustysadderdaze



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Angst, Blood and Violence, Dark Character, Explicit Sexual Content, I'm Sorry Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul | Ten, Inspired by Black Swan (2010), M/M, Mental Health Issues, Psychosis
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-24
Updated: 2021-01-24
Packaged: 2021-03-17 02:33:57
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,351
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28966896
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dustysadderdaze/pseuds/dustysadderdaze
Summary: Ten just wanted to be perfect. He'd give anything to be. Sicheng was the only one standing in the way.
Relationships: Dong Si Cheng | WinWin/Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul | Ten
Comments: 3
Kudos: 29





	Beautiful People Beautiful Problems

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! Just in case you only glanced at the tags, this fic deals with a LOT of mental health issues and it's dark. If you've seen Black Swan, this was based on it. enjoy!

Sicheng was different. He was sharp and yet elegant. He was detached, and yet he was friendly. And god, was he gorgeous. 

And bad for Ten. Not that Ten knew that at the time Sicheng introduced himself sweetly to the dance team. “Sicheng just moved here recently, he was dancing in Wenzhou at a very prestigious school...welcome him kindly, everyone,” their instructor chided before motioning for the piano player to continue his soft dancing. YangYang, Hendery, and Yukhei were already on their feet to go say hi but Ten… well, he was focused on getting his legs stretched out. He’d say hello later.

Every morning, right before dawn, Ten would get up, make himself a protein shake and stretch his muscles out, lowering himself into a splits with ease. He walked into the studio one morning to see Sicheng already getting warmed up- cigarette hanging loosely from his lips. Ten’s eyes widened in shock.

“Good morning, Ten,” Sicheng greeted him, extending his legs to work out the tight feeling in them.

Ten blanched before replying, “you’re not allowed to smoke in the st-”

Sicheng smirked at him, rolling his eyes, “I won’t tell if you won’t.”

And he didn’t, keeping his mouth shut while they warmed up together, the sun slowly raising its pretty head and shining through the windows. They didn’t talk much except Sicheng complimenting his poise and his form. Ten merely smiled each time he was complimented.

Around this time of year, they would start figuring out what they wanted to do for their group or solo projects. Ten had been studying ballet all of his life and he definitely wanted to do something at least kind of like that. He missed the Arabesque, he missed the Assemblé. He missed the thrill, the finesse. He was definitely out of practice, but a dancer never forgets something like that, muscle memory if you will. 

He was glossing over old performances one day on his work laptop, back pressed against one of the studio walls while everyone was out at lunch. Except for Sicheng, apparently. He sat down beside Ten, pulling his knees up to his chest, “You’re interested in ballet?” Ten smiled at him weekly, nodding.

“Yeah… I used to be a ballet dancer, and so did my mom… she was one of the best,” he sighed wistfully, a faraway look in his eyes.

Sicheng watched him quietly, waiting for him to continue.

“I guess I just wanted to, uh… honor her in that way for the next big project, you know what I mean? She literally has no idea I’ve been practicing again,” Ten chuckled and shook his head.

“Well… if you need a partner to do the pas de deux with, I’d be glad to.” Sicheng smiled gently at him.

Ten’s eyes lit up and he closed the lid of his laptop, “That’s perfect, I’d love that. I already have an idea for what to do…”

And so they spent endless hours in the studio going over concepts, over the choreography. Sicheng would often bring food for them to snack on but Ten barely took breaks. He was focused. He wanted to be perfect. He wanted to make his mother proud.

Dancing with Sicheng was effortless, and yet it never failed to leave Ten with a morbid taste on his tongue. He wanted to be perfect. Sicheng was perfect. Sicheng Sicheng Sicheng-

“Hello, welcome home,” Billie’s voice left a deep, hollow ache in Ten’s chest as Sicheng p[ulled his forehead onto his shoulder, completing the dance they’d been working on for weeks now.

Ten stayed where he was for a moment. Two. Chest heaving, eyes closed, sweat leaving the lightest moisture on his pretty face.

“You were excellent today,” Sicheng murmured, stroking his fingers through Ten’s hair, sending a shiver vibrating through him. The two of them had been collaborating for this special project and while Ten enjoyed the sensual, raw touches the two of them exchanged, he couldn’t handle the idea that...someone might be much better than him. He was scared. He was scared to mess up. 

“Yeah?” Ten chuckled nervously, pulling away from his dance partner.

“Always. You’re always fantastic.”

Ten turned his head the slightest bit to peek at him, a hint of a smile pulling the corners of his lips up. “I’m glad you think so.”

“Wanna go out for a bite to eat once we’ve cleaned up?” This was a common question and Ten always obliged.

“I’ve gotta turn in early, but...yeah. I’d like that.” 

Ten excused himself to his private break room, rubbing his face with a cold rag- when he looked up, he let out a sharp gasp, his throat feeling like it was full of ice. Instead of his tired, sleepy face, he saw himself- but evil-looking. Pitch black eyes. Grinning, but it wasn’t nice or pleasant. And there was blood-

There was a knock on his door before he could fully comprehend what just happened. He stared at the mirror, lips parted even as Sicheng poked his head in. 

“You ready to go, Ten?” he asked curiously, already dressed, bag swung over his shoulder.

Ten finally ripped his eyes away from his reflection, trying to brush what he saw off. “Yeah.” he managed a smile. “Yeah, let’s go.”

Ten and Sicheng left the studio together, Ten blatantly ignoring the pointed looks the two of them were getting. It was late, after all. They went out for drinks, Sicheng insisting on taking him home- “I don’t trust this city, and a pretty little thing walking the streets late at night.” Sicheng wrapped his arm around his waist, keeping the umbrella over the both of them even though it was merely sprinkling.

Eventually, they got to Ten's apartment and before he typed in his pin code, he turned to him, a rare shy look on his face. "Do you….wanna come up?"

His eyebrows shot up in surprise and his ears flushed a light pink. "I...yeah, if you'll have me."

Ten's head was in a million different places tonight. Maybe this was a bad idea, but his body couldn't stop remembering the gentle touches Sicheng graced him with. They were almost like tattoos. 

The night was perfect. The moon was out, shining down into Ten's bedroom as he pulled Sicheng inside.

Sicheng pushed Ten’s blazer off of his body, lips still fiercely attached to his. Ten’s hands were desperately gripping Sicheng’s button-down, clawing at it, telling him wordlessly that he wanted it off, and he wanted it off now. “Be patient,” Sicheng nipped at his bottom lip, smirking.

Before he knew it, he was on his back, one leg carefully wrapped around Sicheng’s slim waist. He could see himself over Sicheng’s shoulder in the mirror behind him, and god, he was beautiful. Sicheng had the prettiest tattoo stretching across his back. Two swans, one colored in with black ink, intertwined at the neck. Ten scratched at his skin, eyes rolling back. He felt way too good, thighs on fire, arms wrapped tightly around Sicheng. He'd been watching himself in the mirror but something was….wrong. 

His skin was melting. It looked like his eyes were going pitch black- not one speck of white, only red for his irises. The face that belonged to him smiled devilishly at him, canines sharpened with blood messily splattered on his lips and chin. He was speechless, gasping for air as Sicheng finished inside of him, leaving a trail of dark hickies down Ten’s neck in his wake. He passed out after that, but Ten was wide awake, dragging himself to the shower to scrub his skin clean, hands quivering. He couldn’t get what he saw out of his mind. Every time he closed his eyes, it was all he could think about. It was a shock. Almost exactly like what he’d seen in the practice mirror earlier. It was him, but not him. Malformed. A nightmare. Something directly out of a Stephen King novel. He felt confused. Distressed. Hands shaking, he got up carefully to tiptoe into the bathroom, gently splashing water on his face. As if washing away everything that had just happened.

He was late that next morning, sprinting to the nearest bus stop so he wouldn’t be late. He blamed Sicheng. It was Sicheng’s fault. He rushed into the dance studio, out of breath, and his dance team gave him subtle dirty looks all around. Except him. He just smiled so sweetly at him, giving him a little wave. He distanced himself from Sicheng after that. No after-work drinks, no morning coffee runs. He buckled himself down to only talk about their project together.

In the coming weeks, Ten started to feel more threatened by his co-worker. He didn't trust him. Ten refused to think about the night they’d shared together, simply pretending it hadn’t happened. He’d sit in front of the vanity in his own little breakroom, removing his makeup, simply imagining Sicheng not even being a part of this little studio- maybe Ten would be the one to make him leave. Maybe Sicheng would feel so threatened that he’d move to a different team. All Ten knew was that he just desired perfection. If he had to step on a few people to climb his way to the top, so be it.

A week before the concert, Ten was practicing late at night, lights dimmed but focused on him so he was in the spotlight dancing in front of the floor-length mirrors. He didn’t even hear Sicheng approaching him, nor did he take any notice of him.

“Ten,” Sicheng called, keeping his distance- everyone knew better than to disturb him while he was focused. 

Ten straightened up, eyes meeting Sicheng’s frame in the reflection. But he was all… distorted. It was getting to the point where the line between reality and his imagination was too blurred so all Ten could do was back up against the mirrors and the barre he’d been using to stretch himself on. “What are you doing here? It’s late…” he whispered- one minute there was blood splattered on the floor in front of his feet, the next there wasn’t. It was extraordinarily distracting. There was a foul taste residing on his tongue as he stared at Sicheng, mind foggy. Was that Sicheng or just his imagination? He didn’t seem real- his skin, usually suntanned, was pale, almost resembling a ghost. As for the blood… it seemed to be dripping off of his delicate hands.

“I was just...grabbing my things, I came to check on you… are you okay?”

“Get out of here, Sicheng… please,” he could barely get the words out politely.

“Ten, what has got you so messed up? Talk to me-” he was suddenly by Ten’s side, and Ten’s heart dropped into his stomach. He tried to touch him but he was wrapping his hand around Sicheng’s wrist, squeezing tightly. 

“Don’t touch me.” it was barely above a whisper before he let go, grabbing his messenger bag and nearly sprinting out of the studio.

The night of the big concert their team was hosting rolled around, and Ten was extraordinarily on edge. He sat side-stage, watching his other members perform their solos, joining them when it was his turn. He couldn’t even focus on the crowd, it was either hazy or every shiny object flashed like diamonds, blinding him. Eventually, he was able to escape to his breakroom- lips automatically curling back. Sicheng was in his room, and for what fucking reason? Ten was immediately on him, getting right in his face to spit venom. “Get out of my room and get off of my fucking stage. You don’t want to play this game with me,” he hissed, backing him into a corner.

"This isn't a competition, Ten," Sicheng snarled at him, teeth spattered with blood.

"Yes, it fucking is when you keep trying to steal my spotlight. It's MY turn, Sicheng. MY turn." His teeth were gritted as he held his coworker up by his collar, a red haze blanketing his vision. "Stay out of my spotlight," he didn't even recognize his own voice anymore. It didn't belong to him.

"Ten," Sicheng was gasping. Why was he gasping? He didn't have his hands around his-

His neck. Somehow his hands had made their way around his neck, fingers pressing bruises into his delicate skin.

Ten's vision was suddenly cleared and he let go of Sicheng, hands shaking terribly as he quickly darted out of the room, leaving his things behind. All he could think of was getting out. Getting away from him. 

But the show had to go on. There was an audience waiting for them. Sitting down at the vanity in his own little break room, hands shaking, he tried to take deep breaths. In. Out.

Their last performance of the night. Lovely. The duo project they'd been working on since Sicheng walked into this godforsaken studio. 

Ten brushed his hair out of his face, looking at himself in the mirror. He was exhausted. Mentally. Physically. Instead of dwelling on it for too long, he pushed himself away, carefully walking out onto the stage, eyes meeting Sicheng’s. The music started softly.  
The piano resonated in Ten's ears, and they started their pas de deux. His feet glided across the floor effortlessly. It felt like the spotlight was on him and him only. He focused on Sicheng and the way their bodies molded together perfectly, even as the dance was symbolic of the fight was the battle between good and evil. The music surrounding the two of them sounded muffled, he could only concentrate on the sound of his heart beating in his chest, the oxygen filling his lungs.

“Hello, welcome home,” Sicheng rested his hand on the back of his neck and Ten couldn't help himself from resting his chin on Sicheng's shoulder as the lights dimmed, the song ending.  
And as the curtains closed, and Ten's eyes slid shut, fatigue hitting him, he whispered, voice shaking, "I was perfect."

And all was black.

**Author's Note:**

> This has been a huge work in progress for longer than I'd care to admit to and I'm so happy it's finally published and out there. If you enjoyed, let me know!! Also, come say hi on Twitter at cupidtennie!!


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